OECD: Discontent could slow countries' rebound from pandemic

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, global discontent was on the rise, according to a newly launched report by the OECD Development Centre. While this surge in dissatisfaction is not limited to low-income countries, its causes — including deepening inequality — and the effects it has in exacerbating social fragmentation pose a specific threat to their ability to rebound from the current crisis.

Amid this collective threat of discontent, there is also an opportunity to re-imagine political, economic, and social systems — including multilateral institutions that have helped contribute to the dissatisfaction, according to a panel assembled for the report’s launch Tuesday.

“If we paid attention only to GDP [gross domestic product] data as a metric for development, we wouldn’t know people are discontented,” said Alexander Pick, the report’s lead author. Instead, the report identified rising discontent in the form of protest, voter turnout, and declining trust in government.

The OECD Development Centre identified four key drivers: inequality, uneven progress in improving well-being beyond income, worsening labor conditions, and the climate crisis. Underlying these are complex factors involving identity and economic systems, sometimes introduced and perpetuated by multilateral organizations in pursuit of development.

While overcoming them may prove more difficult in the lowest-income countries — where governments will emerge from the pandemic with funds depleted — discontent exists in virtually every country.

What this might mean: The shared threat of discontent also creates the potential for a collective response, particularly because the causes of that dissatisfaction transcend national boundaries, said economist Milindo Chakrabarti, who participated in the launch.

Alongside recommendations that include fostering innovation and experimentation in the wake of COVID-19, the report also hints at potential changes to the multilateral system.

Those include a shift away from the sovereignty-based model embedded in the United Nations Security Council and toward specialized agencies organized around cross-boundary cooperation.